Valley Springs students have been participating in Odyssey of the Mind for more than twenty years. Odyssey of the Mind is a program that promotes creative problem solving throughout the world. Schools must purchase a membership to participate. There are three levels of competition: Regional, State, and World. The best teams at each level progress to the next level of competition.

There are five Long Term problems to choose from, and each Team may choose one problem. A team consists of five to seven students under the guidance of a coach. Team members study the details of their long term problem and then develop a solution over a period of months. The solution may involve designing and building a vehicle or some other ingenious device that will accomplish certain required tasks, or building a balsa wood structure that can support incredible weight, or producing a play that meets specific requirements, and do these things with a degree of style. At competition each team must also solve a Spontaneous Problem which involves quick thinking, coming up with creative answers to a problem or question in a very short period of time.

To learn more about OM, visit the official OM International Website.
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